Armenia is a country of old traditions and Biblical stories. Every town, every monument has its interesting stories and legends. According to the Bible, Gen.8:4, “And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountain of ARARAT”. God blessed this land through Noah, creating a paradise for His new generation after the flood. Thanks to these blessings, Armenia has survived through centuries and millenniums. Therefore, this land in which Noah, his family and all the animals settled is where all nations and fauna came forth. Legend holds that, in this land, Noah prepared the first wine. It is this wine that God has taken as the symbol of the sacrifice of His Only Begotten son, Jesus Christ. The Armenian people followed suit and became the first Christian nation. Armenia is the land of all ancestral people. It is the land in which God chose for the generation of Noah to start a new.

After the flood, Noah set his first table on Mount Ararat and offered a sacrifice to God. It was here that God made his first covenant with man, and as a sign of it, a rainbow appeared in the sky. With the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Armenian nation, Ararat gained increased importance. King Trdat ordered the sanctuary of St.Hripsime to be built with stones brought from Mount Ararat.

The most beautiful story linked to St. James of Nisibis (4th Century) is the legend of his climbing Mt Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark. He is known as the first man who ever tried to climb Mt. Ararat to quench this devout desire.

According to the story, St. James of Nisibis wanted to climb Mt. Ararat in order to find Noah’s Ark. Despite his old age, he set out to climb the huge mountain. On the way, he stopped to rest and fell asleep. In his sleep an angel approached him and told him that he was too old a man and that it would be humanly impossible for him to climb all the way to the top, but to satisfy his ardent desire and deep faith, the angel gave him a piece of Noah’s Ark, saying to him, “Take this and satisfy your desire”. St James, being content with this piece from Noah’s Ark, returned home. According to tradition, this piece of Noah’s Ark is in our Holy See of Etchmiadzin.

Everyone should make a pilgrimage to this Biblical land.
This land is the traditional site of the Garden of Eden.

The four rivers mentioned in Genesis, rising in the Garden, still flow through Armenia.

For those who wish to experience this land from a Biblical and Christian perspective, to walk the land of Noah and the Apostles (Thaddeus and Bartholomew) , to breath this clean air and bask in the sun, to drink its crystal spring waters and eat its lavash-bread,SIMATours will help make this journey unforgettable. May God make all your wishes and dreams come true. This prayer comes from the depths of our hearts.